"When the lots were sold, there was supposed to be an ecological area over there. Today, it's a shanty town where there is gunfire, where the traffickers fight each other with knives," complaints an inhabitant of Boulevard Mendes-France, in her house with its view over the 'jungle'."

She's just received her household tax bill: "€1,211. At that price, we have the right to jump whenever there's a gunshot."

Rantings? She holds her phone, shows a video taken this week. The sound of gunfire is clearly audible. "This morning again, there were gunshots. Everyone in the district heard them. Each time, me, my husband, my two daughters, we get down on all fours in our house in case a bullet comes through a window. Once, it lasted twenty minutes."

Of North African origin, she describes how, when she leaves her home, she is verbally attacked by migrants because she doesn't wear a veil. A neighbour adds: "We live shut up. We don't let our children play outside. I'm sure most of these people aren't a problem. But all you need is one bad encounter, someone unbalanced. Myself, I was almost knocked down by a trafficker's car that was being chased by the police."

Another local adds that he longs to leave, "to get out of Grande-Synthe, like a lot of people here. But we're trapped. No one will want to buy a house here."